Athletic belt and clips for securing a workout towel

ABSTRACT

A velcro athletic belt with velcro backed clips for securing a workout towel to the torso of a person. This “hands free” belt, clip and towel assembly allows the person to exercise, jog, run or lounge with the towel securely attached on his waist. A different embodiment utilizes clips which attach the towel directly to the person&#39;s clothes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to athletic gear and more particularly to a velcro workout belt with velcro backed clips for securing a workout towel to the torso of a person. This “hands free” belt, clip and towel assembly allows a person to exercise, jog or run with the workout towel securely attached to the waist. A different embodiment utilizes clips which attach the workout towel directly to the person's clothes.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Exercise is a popular and necessary part of today's active lifestyle. It promotes health and emotional well-being.

For cardiac health, it is recommended that a person exercise for an uninterrupted, thirty minute session at least three times a week.

However, with this increase in cardiac rate, the person begins to perspire quit heavily. Therefore, it is necessary and desirable to wipe the face and body of sweat during the exercise session.

Accordingly, athletic clubs supply workout towels to all their patrons for “sweat management”. However, it is burdensome to lug these workout towels around during the exercise session; ie: from workout station to workout station, and machine to machine. Additionally, there is a tendency to forget one's workout towel somewhere along the way or inadvertently pick up someone else's towel.

An additional problem with the workout towel is there is no appropriate place to set it. Accordingly, it is usually thrown on the floor next to the person exercising simply because there is no other place to put it. Throwing the workout towel on the dirty floor and then wiping one's face and body is not a particularly hygienic practice, but it is a common everyday occurrence. at the “health” clubs.

In order to solve the, “what to do with the workout towel” problem, people sometimes try to tie the towel around their waist. However, it constantly falls off and is much too cumbersome to wear while exercising, so once again it is tossed on the dirty floor.

Some people attempt to keep the workout towel off the floor by draping the towel over the exercise equipment. However, this often interferes with the person trying to exercise. Additionally, a towel is a rather personal item for most people. Even though the athletic clubs supply clean workout towels to their patrons, many people would prefer to bring and use their own towel.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to design a “hands free” workout towel so people can exercise, jog or run without need to hand carry their workout towel.

Another object of this invention is to design a belt and clip assembly for securing a workout towel to the waist of the person in order to keep it off the dirty floor.

Still another object is to design a belt and clip assembly for securing a workout towel that utilizes an easy-on, easy-off clip for quick towel accessibility.

It is a further object to design a belt that is highly adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of waist sizes and assembly styles.

It is a further object to design a belt that is comfortable and not cumbersome to wear during workout sessions.

Still another object is to design a belt and towel workout assembly that is an attractive fashion accessory.

It is a further object to design a velcro belt and mated clips to accommodate both the towels supplied by the athletic clubs, as well as personal towels that a person may prefer to use during their workout session.

A further object is to utilize a belt, clip and towel assembly to compliment beach wear and to cover a portion of the swimsuit to make one more publicly presentable during trips to and from the beach or pool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In keeping with an aspect of the invention, these and other objects are accomplished by use of a velcro belt with velcro-backed clips for securing a workout towel, to the belt. Preferably, the belt is made of industrial strength velcro in which the back sides of the hook strip and loop strip are fused or sewn together to form an approximate four foot long belt. Accordingly, one side of the four foot long belt will comprise hook velcro for the entire four foot span of belt and the other side will comprise loop velcro for the entire four foot span of belt. This way when the belt is wrapped around the waist, the loop side easily mates to the hook side no matter what a person's waist size.

Attached to the velcro belt are plastic clips with velcro on the back side of each clip for easy attachment to the velcro belt.

In operation, a towel is slid into the plastic clip. Then the velcro backed clip secured to any desired location on the belt.

This way the towel may be hung from one side of the belt for easy access, ie: especially for wiping perspiration from a person's brow while exercising or running.

Additionally, the towel may be wrapped around a person to cover their lower torso or as a cover over swim wear, by attaching the clips to opposite ends of the towel and then attachment to the velcro belt.

Additionally, the belt may be fashioned as a sash around one's shoulder for a change in style and function.

Still a different embodiment of the invention utilizes two mated clips for securing the workout towel directly to a person's clothes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention may become more apparent from the following specification, taken with the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a person wearing the athletic belt, clips and towel;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the inner and outer sides of the velcro athletic belt with clips attached, thereto;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a clip to better show the inside tabs which grip the towel;

FIG. 4 shows an alternate means for attaching a workout towel to the belt;

FIG. 5 shows alternate clips for securing a towel directly to the person's clothing without utilizing a belt;

FIG. 6 shows a magnetic means incorporated into the clip for an alternate attachment means; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a person wearing the velcro belt as a sash for a change in style and function.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a person wearing velcro athletic belt 10. The velcro athletic belt 10 contains easy-on, easy-off clips 12 and 14. The backs of clips 12 and 14 contain velcro strips 40 (as seen in FIG. 3), which affix onto velcro athletic belt 10. A workout towel 16 is secured onto the velcro athletic belt 10 via clips 12 and 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, workout towel 16 may hang from the left side of a right handed person for easy access during exercise. This side location allows a person to conveniently wipe sweat from their face and body without interrupting one's workout.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of both sides of velcro athletic belt 10 with clips 12 and 14 shown attached, thereto. Velcro athletic belt 10 is preferably at least four feet in length to accommodate a wide range of waist sizes or shoulder strap styles. If desired, the person may easily trim the velcro athletic belt 10 to a more exact fit.

The width of velcro athletic belt 10 is approximately 1¾ inches wide to accommodate clips 12 and 14 which are 1¾ inches long. However, it is understood that any size belt, clip and towel can be used to form the inventive instrument. Also, the belt, clip and towel can come in a multitude of colors and even designs for fashionable workout and beach wear.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, velcro athletic belt 10 comprises an outer hook side 20 which is bonded together with an inner loop side 22. The inner loop side 22 is worn against the body of the person due to its soft texture. Velcro athletic belt 10 is preferably made of industrial strength velcro, for its strength and durability, as well as the fact that the hook side is not course in nature, like the old hook velcro used to be.

Clips 12 and 14 may be affixed to any desired location on velcro athletic belt 10 by attaching them onto outer hook side 20.

The free ends 24 and 26 of velcro athletic belt 10 may be cross-crossed as seen at 28 to form an attractive closure, which is especially important when the belt is worn as a fashion accessory. The free ends 24 and 26 may, also, be fastened in a standard overlap closure.

Additionally, free ends 24 and 26 may be rounded as illustrated in FIG. 2 to eliminate any pointed ends and to further add an attractive appearance to the velcro athletic belt 10.

Additionally, stitching may be added around free ends 24 and 26 to add more fashion flare, as well as durability to the ends.

FIG. 3 shows the side view of clip 12. (Clip 14 is constructed identical to clip 12.)

In greater detail, clip 12 is basically a tight U-shaped design. Clip 12 contains two parallel walls 32 and 34 attached together by a bridge 36. Area 38 is open space to accept an edge of workout towel 16.

The back side of parallel wall 32 contains a velcro strip 40. Velcro strip 40 is a loop design to mate with the outer hook side 20 of athletic belt 10.

The inside of parallel wall 34 contains several round tabs 42 which contact opposite inner wall 33. This contact ultimately provides the grip needed to secure workout towel 16 within open area 38.

Preferably, clips 12 and 14 are made of a plastic material with a flat, rounded contour for optimal comfort during on the floor workout routines.

In operation, the velcro athletic towel 10 is fastened around the waist of a person. An edge of workout towel 16 is slid into open area 38 of clip 12. The round tabs 42 on the inside of parallel wall 34 grip workout towel 16, securely holding it within clip 12. Clip 12 is then attached to any desired area on the velcro athletic belt 10 via the velcro strip 40 contained on the back side of Clip 12.

Accordingly, during an exercise session, a person may easily separate clip 12 from velcro athletic belt 10 to wipe their face and body with very little interruption to the workout/exercise routine. After the person is finished wiping their brow, the workout towel 16 may easily be attached back onto the velcro athletic belt 10.

Clips 12 and 14 may both be utilized to more securely hold workout towel 16 to velcro athletic belt 10, especially during strenuous exercise or running.

Additionally, clips 12 and 14 may be used to create various draped fashion styles and designs for workout towel 16. For example, workout towel 16 may be fashionably, wrapped around a person's backside, draped at the midriff, or used as a cover over a swimsuit.

The easy-slide on, easy-slide off design of clips 12 and 14 works well with all towels whether it be hand size, bath size or beach size.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate towel 50 for attachment without clips to velcro athletic belt 10. Here a long velcro strip 52 is sewn along one side of towel 50. Velcro strip 52 comprises a soft loop velcro so it will not scratch a person's face or skin.

In operation, the velcro strip 52 of towel 50 simply fastens onto velcro athletic belt 10 without the need for clips. Accordingly, towel 50 may be expanded its entire width or gathered for a more unique towel design.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment for securing workout towel 16 directly to the workout clothes of the person without need for a belt.

In greater detail, clip 60 contains a velcro hook strip 64 glued to back side 66 of clip 60. The other clip 62 contains a velcro loop strip 68 glued to back side 70 of clip 62. The inside of clips 60 and 62 both contain round tabs 72, 73 respectively for gripping fabric contained within open areas 74 and 76.

In operation, a portion of workout clothing is slid into open area 74 of clip 60. Round tab 72 holds the workout clothing taught within clip 60. Then a end of workout towel 16 is slid into open area 76 of clip 62. The round tab 73 holds workout towel 16 securely within clip 62. Clips 60 and 62 are then pressed together to hang the workout towel 16 directly from the person's workout clothes.

FIG. 6 shows an alternate means for attaching the two clips together. In greater detail, clips 80 and 82 have magnets 84 and 85 incorporated into back sides 86 and 88 of clips 80 and 82. Magnets 84 and 85 have different polarities for attraction and attachment to each other.

In operation, clip 80 is secured to a person's workout clothes and clip 82 secured to workout towel 16. Then clips 80 and 82 are attached with magnetism via magnets 85 and 86.

This embodiment may be desirable if one wants to temporarily remove workout towel 16 and attach it to the metal exercise equipment.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a person wearing velcro athletic belt 10 converted into a sash design 90. A workout towel 92 via clips 94 and 96 is attached to sash design 90. This sash design 90 may be particularly advantageous when utilizing upright exercise equipment in order to wipe the brow without slowing the cardiac workout.

All the features disclosed herein may easily be substituted and combined with each other. Also, those skilled in the art will perceive still other minor changes to the invention. For example, other flat clips could be utilized and areas of elastic could be added to the velcro athletic belt. Therefore, the appended claims are to be construed broadly enough to cover all equivalent structures falling within the scope and spirit of this invention. 

1. An athletic workout belt for hanging an unaltered, towel from the torso area of a person in order to allow a hands free design so that the person doesn't have to carry said towel in their hand while exercising, jogging or running; said workout belt comprising a hook and loop tape, wherein one side of said belt has at least a portion of loop tape and the other side of said belt has at least a portion of hook tape, whereby said hook side and said loop side may be joined together to form a belt of a desired waist size, clip means for attaching onto said belt containing an open area which said towel may be inserted into, said clip means further containing a hook or loop tab for attaching said clip to said workout belt.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. The workout belt of claim 1 wherein said clip is of a flat, smooth contour for optimal comfort during floor exercises.
 5. The workout belt of claim 1 wherein the inside of said clip contains tabs to grip a portion of said towel.
 6. (canceled)
 7. (canceled)
 8. The clips of claim 11 whereby said clips are joined together by magnets located on said clips.
 9. An athletic belt with means for attaching a towel thereto, wherein said athletic belt comprises hook and loop tape, wherein the exterior side of said athletic belt comprises primarily hook tape and the interior side of said athletic belt comprises primarily loop tape, whereby the exterior hook side and the interior loop side may be joined together to form a belt of a desired waist size, whereby a personal towel with a loop-type nap will adhere to said exterior hook side of said athletic belt.
 10. The process of hanging an unaltered, workout towel from the torso of a person for convenient perspiration control during exercise, comprising the steps of: A. Attaching an edge of said workout towel to a clip; B. Attaching said clip containing said workout towel to a belt containing hook tape on one side and loop tape on the other side; C. The person exercising with the workout towel hanging from said belt; D. The person removing said workout towel from said belt to wipe sweat from the face and body; E. Reattaching said clip containing said workout towel back onto said belt; and F. Continuing with one's workout with little interruption to one's exercise routine.
 11. The athletic accessory comprising at least two clips which may be mated together to hang a standard, unaltered, workout towel from a person's clothing while exercising, whereby one clip is attached to a person's clothing and the other clip is attached to said workout towel whereby said workout towel may be easily removed during the workout session for perspiration control, and said clips comprising a flat, smooth contour for optimal comfort during floor exercises. 